Mythologica
by Inclinant
Summary: Myths AU. Family is family, no matter what. Whatever form or being you might be, I will always love you, my child. Or otherwise known as "In which a poor group of mythical beings really had it coming for them when they decided to become parents". Starring the families of hetalia with a mythical twist in a fluff-filled, madcap child-rearing adventure worthy of legends.


_The children were laughing at him even as the oldest boy pushed him down into the dirt, kicking his side hard. His white fox ears were pressed down flatly on his head, tail curled around his leg. He coughed and curled up a little onto his side to protect himself, but the other children just laughed louder at his action and started throwing more rocks and sticks at his tiny body._

_"Look at the pathetic half-demon!" The large boy who had kicked him laughed, before striking at his quivering self one more time. "Filthy creature! You wanted to play with us? Look at your ears and tail! We're not dirty things like you!"_

The small fox-child whimpered as he curled up his battered, bruised little body into the small opening, shivering in his threadbare clothes. He trembled, eyes squeezed tightly, before there was a soft silvery light surrounding him that soon peeled away to reveal the tiny figure of a white fox cub. The cub's fur was dirty and matted with dark blood in places. Dark bruises dotted the dull white, ragged fur. He squeaked softly, before curling up tightly, tucking his head between his tiny paws and then letting his thick tail fall over his nose. It hurt to breath, and it was so cold...

* * *

The great white fox bounded through the forest without so much as a whisper, his elegant self a blazing white form through the trees.

It was the muffled cry that caught Yao's attention. The nine-tail fox paced regally into the small grove, all his tails swishing after his pure white body. He strode over to the centre of the opening, standing in the silvery moonlight, sharp eyes following the bright beams and ears perked up to listen to the soft, weak whimpers. It sounded like that of a cub, a young cub hurt and in pain. Where was the cub's mother?

He rounded a thick pile of bushes, before lowering himself to the ground to peer at the small hollow nestled within the base of the thicket.

He blinked at the tiny fox cub in surprise.

A half fox child? Half human and half fox spirit, which would explain the cub's tiny appearance and single tail.

The poor child was very hurt, he noted in worry. Starved, injured and extremely weak. He poked his head into the hollow to nudge the cub a little, but the child merely cried out weakly at the touch and shrunk into himself, shivering even more. Yao withdrew, frowning a little at the child. The cub was so very thin and his temperature was far too high! He quickly looked about him, noting the lightning flashing in the distance. A storm was coming.

The cub absolutely could not remain here. Weakened and without a proper shelter, the child would surely not survive the night. Yao growled slightly in indecision, before quickly leaning down and picking the fox cub gently. The cub writhed a little, weak little paws clawing at the air frantically. Yao hastily let the child down gently, gazing at the round ball of fur in concern. The rain would be on them soon. He gazed back up at the sky. There was not enough time to return to his den, but the cub would not remain here either.

Yao quickly called a spell to warm the child, weaving several protection charms around him. That done, he leapt up and quickly scanned the horizon, bounding a little along the grove to a rocky slope. Perhaps there was a cave here? Or at least a small nook, an outlying crop of rocks they could take shelter in? He ran up to a pile of loose rocks, before striking it squarely with his claws. The rocks tumbled away, revealing a small, but serviceable cave. It was enough to keep them dry and if he piled up the rocks at the entrance, the water should not enter.

Quickly, Yao dashed back to the child, picking him up once more before returning to the cave just as the skies opened. He had just made it into the small cave and rolled the rocks into a makeshift wall before the rain lashed down mercilessly. Sighing in relief, he just lay down onto the ground, then turned about to look at the tiny child.

The young cub was curled up tightly into a ball, shivering now, but he was far too gone with the fever to be aware of his surroundings. Yao frowned in worry, then shifted closer to the cub, tucking him by his side. He placed a paw protectively around the other, before bringing forward his thick tails and wrapping them snugly about the other. He whispered a few protection and healing spells over the other, before settling on his own paws and staring at the young cub, who was starting to relax now, fondly.

* * *

Kiku awoke with a start, eyes blinking in the bright sunlight. He scrambled to his feet, only to realise that his wounds had all been healed and his fur was now clean, smooth and brushed. He leapt to his feet, then discovered that he was not where he had escaped to last night, but instead in a small cave. Hastily, he shot out of the cave, but there was no one around.

Kiku quickly shifted back into his human form, his small child's body tottering around the ground unsteadily. How had he ended up in the cave? How had his wounds heal so quickly? How had-

A loud, deafening growl made his heart freeze. Kiku spun around, but fell mid-way. He yelped as he smashed face-first into the ground, then quickly jumped up as another ear-splitting growl filled the air. His eyes met the snarling face of an enormous dog with crimson eyes.

A..It was a dog demon! Kiku screamed and immediately transformed back into a little fox, before dashing desperately back into the cave, deeper, deeper, away from the dog demon...

He collided with the back. Panicking, Kiku spun around, only to stare in fear as the dog demon tore apart the entrance of the cave, snapping at him with its large, sharp canines. Kiku squeaked, trembling wildly now as he curled up as best as he could, shaking as he stared wide-eyed at the dog demon who was coming nearer and nearer...

A furious roar echoed out, and suddenly, there was a blazing white figure that slammed the dog demon to the ground. The dog swiped at the figure with its heavy dark brown paw, but the great white fox easily avoided it and slashed at the dog mercilessly. The dog howled in pain, before scrambling away from the fox and darting off back into the forest.

It was a nine-tail fox. An adult nine-tail fox spirit. Kiku unraveled himself from the small ball he had wrapped himself in only to stare, quivering, at the older, powerful spirit. Elder pureblood spirits had hurt him before, seeing him as a blight on their kind, chasing him away or striking him with their claws for fun...The fox turned to regard him with its steely eyes, before walking slowly towards him...

It shifted into a form of a man. A tall man with long raven hair that fluttered in the wind and strong dark eyes. He was clad in a single crimson and golden robe that flowed with his movements that were as graceful as the wind. Kiku stared up in awe at the fox spirit, before shrinking back from the other's approach, little trembles starting to take a hold of his tiny figure now.

The man knelt down and gently held out a hand to him. "Come on now, I won't hurt you. You're safe now. You must be hungry, right?"

Kiku shrunk against the back of the cave, watching the man take out a bottle of milk from a small satchel and poured it out into a small saucer. He placed the empty bottle back into his light brown satchel and then leaned against the cave entrance, brushing aside a dark brown strand of hair from his face. His deep brown eyes looked warmly at Kiku.

Kiku slowly stepped out, nervously crawling along the ground so low his belly grazed the soil. He approached the saucer of milk hesitantly, watching the elder spirit all the while. He neared the milk, then quickly scrambled forward, dipping his head down to lap hungrily at the milk. It was warm, creamy and delicious. It had been ages since he had last eaten something other than the scraps scavenged from thrown out leftovers.

He suddenly felt a light pressure on his head and quickly looked up from the empty saucer, eyes pinned on the man in fear. The man quickly lifted his hand, then smiled softly at Kiku. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Can you shift into your human form? Or..."

He frowned at the tiny cub. 'You can stay in your fox form if you wish. Are you an orphan?"

Kiku blinked, still crouched down beside the saucer nervously, but nodded.

"Would you like to come with me then? I will take care of you." The man held out an inviting arm. Kiku faltered. The other fox spirit had been nothing but kind to him and...it would be nice, to have someone to take care of him, to protect him. He couldn't remember his parents at all. All he could remember was being alone, on the streets... He stared at the man's hand, then slowly inched towards it, before crawling onto it.

The man laughed, before taking off one of his outer robes and wrapping it snugly around Kiku's tiny frame. He picked up Kiku, then cradled him tightly. A warm hand gently stroked Kiku's fur. "It'll just be a little while till we're home."

He stared up at the man in surprise, dark eyes wide and shimmering in surprise at the kind gesture. Kiku nodded and gave a little yip of contentment, before curling up and snuggling up against the older spirit's warm chest. He buried his nose beneath his tiny paws, then quickly fell asleep...

* * *

The little cub's name was Kiku, Yao had discovered three days later when he finally managed to coax a word out of the tiny little fur ball. It had taken so long for Kiku to warm up to him. The poor child had been terrified, constantly hiding in tiny nooks and crannies Yao didn't even know his house had. When Yao had shown him his room, Kiku had not even dared to go near anything and had frozen in the middle of the room, ears and tail drooping sadly. He had remained like that as Yao cleaned him gently and then dressed him up in new robes, then froze even more as Yao deposited him onto the soft, fluffy bed. He had barely been able to make the other take the few bites of the porridge he had made for him.

Still, with a lot of tempting sweets and treats, Yao had finally been able to get the other come out of hiding and after a few weeks, Kiku had gradually became more and more comfortable with being around Yao. He had also filled out a little and his face had taken on a beautiful radiant glow. The small cub's tail and ears also became a lot more fluffier...

Yao smiled as he thought about the small cub. Kiku was the most adorable kitsune cub, half-fox or not. Even though now the little rascal had the habit of vanishing from him and coming up with all sorts of pranks...

Just yesterday, Kiku had changed all the wine he had to water! Yao sighed as he remembered sipping his usual late-night vats of wine beneath the moonlight...only to realise that they had all been turned into water! He had the sinking suspicion it was part of the child's ploy to get him to read him two bed time stories every night instead of one.

"Kiku? Kiku! Where are you, Kiku..." Yao called out as he paced slowly through the broad corridors of his house. His loose white robes fluttered about him as he walked into the vast garden, all nine tails sweeping after him. He usually hid his tails, but since this was his den, he didn't bother to hide them. "Kiku where are you...!"

He whirled around as he felt something collide with his tails. "Kiku! What are you doing so early in the morning!"

Kiku looked up from where he was clinging onto Yao's fluffy white tail with a broad smile on his face. Yao laughed, then knelt down beside the young fox, holding out a steaming warm red bean bun. Kiku brightened and immediately jumped at the bun, pinning it down and devouring it in rapid nibbles.

Yao laughed once more, gently petting Kiku's furry ears. Then he playfully reached down to sweep the young child into his arms. He lifted the squealing cub high up into the sky and then began to spin him around quickly, much to Kiku's delight. Kiku laughed, tail whipping about happily, then excitedly hugged Yao tightly when the elder brought him down.

"Yao-_ge!_ Do that again! It was so fun!" Kiku beamed happily, little hands gripping the smooth white silk robes Yao was wearing. His eyes were sparkling with joy. The nine tail fox groaned inwardly at how utterly adorable the baby half fox cub was, but shook his head.

"No, Kiku. Not until you've eaten your breakfast," Yao said sternly, Kiku pouted and lowered his head, but still clung onto Yao's robe. He looked up once more, eyes wide and pleading. Yao sighed and picked up the child.

"Not until you've eaten your breakfast! Come on now!" He held onto Kiku tightly as he sped through his sprawling house, walking faster than any human could hope to. Yao strode into the small dining room and set Kiku down on one of the wooden chairs, before waving his hands to set the food on the table. He could not help the small smile that grew on Kiku's face at the sight of all his favourite foods.

Yao slipped into the neighbouring chair and then pressed the chopsticks into Kiku's small hands. "Now, eat up!"

Kiku flashed him a brilliant smile that nearly made Yao choke on his tea with the sheer adoration and joy in the child's eyes. He winced, hoping the lump in his throat from where the tea had gone down wrongly would go away soon, but his heart was positively bursting with warmth. Finally, the child was well and happy, as he should be...

Yao choked once more, staring at his food in surprise. Then his gaze slowly landed on Kiku who was still tucking into a fish happily, but was obviously struggling to control his mirth. Yao's eyes narrowed.

"Kiku, did you just change my rice to flour...?"

Kiku blinked and then turned to gaze at Yao with the most angelic expression ever. "Me...?"

Just then, a small griffin and a very enraged fairy smashed through the doors of the dining room and flew about the ceiling in a crazed manner, before crashing straight down onto the table. Yao watched in despair as the food went flying, then a waterfall of flour came crashing down on the two intruders.

Kiku was still wearing his innocent look. The griffin chick squawked loudly before shifting into its winged human form, the cheeky young blonde grinning sheepishly at the furious looking fairy whose oversized eyebrows were pulled down in a huge scowl.

Yao just sighed and took the cup of tea he had managed to save with his magic before the table went down. It would be a long day...

* * *

_**Mythologica is a compilation of short oneshots of the family lives of our hetalia nations as mythical beings/creatures. Aka, prepare for fluff, fluff and nothing but fluff. And maybe a little crack. Expect all the hetalia families to appear here! Like Francis and young Matthew, Gilbert and young Ludwig etc. Have fun guessing what creatures/beings/spirits they might be as well! **_

_**I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter and will continue to enjoy the rest! Do leave a review and tell me what you think about this story as well! Thank you very much for reading!**_

_**Next chapter: Fairy!England and Griffin!America, a recipe for complete disaster.**_


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